nesariafandomcom-20200213-history
Battle of Karotaga
Battle of Karotaga The Battle of Karotaga was the most decisive battle of the Nesarian Civil War, fought on a large hill near the small town of Karotaga, in Estemoria. It is considered by most historians to be the battle that ended the war. The vast Republican force, which outnumbered the Loyalist force by 33,000 soldiers and 10 guns, was slaughtered and shattered by the Loyalists, with only 12,000 retreating orderly with the Republican commanders. Karotaga was by far the bloodiest battle of the war, and one of the bloodiest single days in Imperial history, but not the bloodiest engagement - that (dis)honour goes to the Siege of Saviesa. Victory at Karotaga made General Canoparos Levitae something of a national celebrity and cemented his reputation as one of the most famous figures of the Civil War and one of the Empire's most renowned commanders. Although the Republicans still had many more troops in the field, the bulk of their soldiers and officers had been killed, captured or scattered at Karotaga. Demoralised by the crushing defeat, following a year of constant defeat, they surrendered in November. General Lavocos Patidea, leader of the Republicans, was captured. He was later imprisoned for life, but he decided to commit suicide after six months. 15,000 of the 140,000 Loyalist infantry were Greeks, who "displayed unmatched bravery and embarrassed my fellow Nesarians, who were cowards by comparison" according to General Levitae. Course of Battle The battlefield was dominated by a large single hill, which no side initially controlled (although the Loyalists were closer) and both sides desperately wanted control of. The Loyalist guns were entirely horse artillery, which had a shorter range than the Republican foot artillery but much greater maneuverability. The Loyalists sent their guns and the 15,000 Greeks to the peak of the hill at maximum speed, and once they got there they only had a few minutes before the Republicans arrived. The artillery frantically unlimbered while the Greeks delayed the Republican advance, and eventually the guns were able to unleash canister shot at close range, devastating the Republican infantry. The Republicans could have bayonet charged, but General Patidea wrote in his diary that he did not order this because he feared the Loyalists were baiting him into an attack, and that a massed infantry formation lay in waiting just behind the peak. It is unknown whether this was a deliberate or unintentional bluff, as General Levitae never mentioned it. The loyalist cavalry had split in two, and moved to the sides of the hill at the same time as the advance up the hill. Half of the Loyalist infantry moved at normal pace up to the peak of the hill, and the other half split in two and joined the cavalry. The cavalry deliberately jutted themselves outwards, to bait the Republican cavalry, which worked. The Republican cavalry were unable to see the infantry, who were obscured by the hill and some forest cover. As the Republican cavalry began to move, the Loyalist infantry reached the peak of the hill, and forced the Republicans down (but not off) the hill. A line battle ensued, however the Loyalist infantry would undoubtedly fall to the vastly numerically superior Republicans soon, even with the height advantage. The Republican cavalry reached the Loyalist cavalry, but were surprised by the Loyalist infantry squares. The numerically inferior but more experienced Loyalist cavalry combined with the infantry squares resulted in the near-total annihilation of the Republican cavalry. Now that the cavalry were gone, the Loyalist cavalry charged the Republican guns, and the infantry came around to flank the Republican infantry on both sides. Once the guns had been dealt with, the cavalry came around to the rear of the Republican infantry, completely encircling them. The Republican infantry were then systematically slaughtered until "General Levitae, choking back tears, declared that he did not want to see any more good men murdered" (written in the diary of a Loyalist commander) and ordered the cavalry to retreat and the infantry to lower their volume of fire to scare off rather than kill the fleeing enemy. No prisoners were taken - all those who were not killed were allowed to flee. Nearly the entire Republican force was utterly shattered and retreated into the countryside. General Levitae wrote in his diary that "the entire hillside had turned red, and the corpses were piled so high that they nearly gave the hill a second peak". Excavations at the battle side found a vast number of skeletons which seem to confirm Levitae's description.